360 Total Security Essential 8.8.0.1049

 Editor's Rating

360 Internet Security 2013 is a standalone antivirus program that is effective and user friendly. The free antivirus performs well in various tests from different independent labs, thanks to its powerful features.

Features:

• Uses three antivirus engines: BitDefender local engine, machine learning QVM engine and cloud engine based on 360 checksum
• Offers real time protection and gives alerts in case of suspicious access of critical system resources
• Provides secure browsing by blocking malicious URLs and phishing websites
• Protects privacy by stopping unauthorized access of webcam and keyloggers
• Simple and attractive user interface

Installation

We didn't have to deal with many screens when installing 360 Internet Security 2013. One click accepted the license agreement and started installing the program, which took slightly less than a minute. However, the initial update of the antivirus signature took more than 15 minutes.

The antivirus installs relatively fast even on malware-infested systems, and in case of difficulties, you can install it while running Windows in Safe Mode.

Appearance

Three buttons are prominently displayed on the main program window, which are used for performing quick, full and custom scans respectively. Small banners on the lower left corner of the spacious interface provide statistics on quarantined files and performance while three virus engine icons located below them animate whenever the engines update. The program version is displayed just below the icons, and the update link is located on the lower center of the screen.

Two icons on the lower right corner are for Sandbox and Cleaner, which run programs in isolation and remove all traces respectively. On the upper right side is a counter calculating the number of days the free antivirus has been protecting the computer.

On the upper part of the screen is a pull-down menu that gives access to controls you can use to adjust the way you want the antivirus to function.

Using the Virus Remover

The full scan was divided into five stages:

1. System settings
2. Applications
3. Memory
4. Startup
5. All files

We could clearly see the steps the antivirus had completed and where it was scanning. You can choose whether you want the program to have the least impact possible on performance or the fastest speed. You can also choose to shut down the computer once the program completes scanning.

Once the virus remover competed scanning, it displayed a simple list of malware traces, which were not ranked by level of threat or type of malware. However, the malware type column allowed us to sort and view related traces.

The antivirus did not remove malware traces automatically but allowed us to choose to clean them. Interestingly, it requested for a quick scan immediately after completing the cleanup process to detect hidden dangers. When it encountered a stubborn virus, it requested to re-boot the system to remove it.

To protect against phishing websites, 360 Internet Security also includes the 360 WebShield plug-in for web browsers.

Conclusion

360 Internet Security 2013 is a powerful virus remover that uses a behavior-based detection system to offer extra security. nset...